Re: John 5 - "Pick up your mat and walk" -- RSQUBF discussion forum

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Date Posted: 09:11:56 11/08/04 Mon
Author: Brother in Christ
Subject: Re: John 5 - "Pick up your mat and walk"
In reply to: Anonymous 's message, "John 5 - "Pick up your mat and walk"" on 21:18:44 11/06/04 Sat

>I wanted to mention the UBF frequent misapplication of
>the story of the curing of the man who had been sick
>for 38 years. The account goes (CEV):
>
>Beside the pool was a man who had been sick for
>thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw the man and
>realized that he had been crippled for a long time, he
>asked him, "Do you want to be healed?" The man
>answered, "Lord, I don't have anyone to put me in the
>pool when the water is stirred up. I try to get in,
>but someone else always gets there first."
>Jesus told him, "Pick up your mat and walk!" Right
>then the man was healed. He picked up his mat and
>started walking around. The day on which this happened
>was a Sabbath.
>
>Now, when UBF "studies" this passage, the thrust is
>"what is your mat?" Typical answers are "humanism,"
>"materialism," "calculating mind," "no thanksgiving
>mind," "pleasure-seeking desire," etc. It may force
>the "sheep" to confess their deepest darkest secrets
>to their "shepherds." Or if they don't have any deep
>dark secrets, they are forced to invent one. Then
>comes about the usual guilt-tripping, and feeling that
>one must repent by being more "spiritual" - "feeding"
>more "sheep," engaging in "early morning prayer," etc.
>
>What do you think about this teaching? It strikes me
>that UBF takes here what is merely a factual account
>of Jesus' healing of a sick man, and twists it to fit
>their motives.
>
>Matthew Henry's comments on this passage can be found
>at
>http://www.gospelcom.net/eword/comments/john/mhc/john5.
>htm and seem to stick to the scripture. UBF just
>comes out of nowhere with this "what is your mat" idea
>to try to force people under their control using guilt
>manipulation. I'm sure that's the last thing John
>meant when he wrote that scripture.
>
>-- Anonymous ex-UBFer

Yes UBF always comes out of nowhere with these things. There is so much you will only hear in UBF. This is one of the passages that always confused me, and still does. Briefly can someone tell me why Jesus says to pick up your mat? I just don'y buy UBF's interpretation. Please help.

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Replies:

What's with the mat? -- Mike K., 10:13:42 11/08/04 Mon